Letter: Bly's Blog Criticism a Fine Kettle of Fish

The great respect I have for Robert Bly is exceeded only by how surprised I was to learn how little he thinks of blogs ("Can Blogging Help Market Your Product?" Nov. 1). Of all people, such a successful, prolific copywriter and author as he would be one of the first I would expect to have a presence in the so-called blogosphere. Without a doubt, his wealth of knowledge would lend itself well to this relatively new publishing platform.

That said, I would be remiss if I did not call him out for his unfounded -- and, frankly, unfair -- criticism of blogs.

If most blogs he has encountered are "rambling, streams-of-consciousness musings about a topic of interest to the author, largely bereft of the practical, pithy tips that e-zines, Web sites and white papers offer," then he obviously hasn't seen those smart, marketing-related blogs kept by the likes of Tom Peters, Seth Godin, B.L. Ochman and Yvonne DiVita, to name just four.

Bob also suggests that there is "no way of knowing when something new of interest has been added" to a blog, which is not the case. There are a number of ways to subscribe to a blog, not the least of which is RSS, which pushes each new entry to the subscriber's desktop as it is posted.

If Bob honestly believes that most blogs are "the private, idiosyncratic musings of an individual, without censure or editing of any kind," then I invite him to read the past several months worth of "A Fine Kettle of Fish," www.afinekettleoffish.blogspot.com, the blog I write here at Yellowfin Direct Marketing. Not only has this blog helped us put a personality on our agency, it has also given us a forum in which to hold forth on the latest topics and issues of interest to the direct marketing, advertising and fundraising communities.

And while this blog may not have produced a return on our investment - yet - it has opened doors to many new business relationships that will surely, over time, lead to new streams of revenue.